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How shall I part, and whither wander down
Into a lower world; to this obscure

And wild? how shall we breathe in other air
Less pure, accustom'd to immortal fruits?"

Paradise Lost, Book XI.

Spoken by Eve when she learned that she and her husband were to be expelled from the garden of Eden. ambrosial, of ambrosia, a name given by the poets to the food of the gods.

ADAM AND EVE'S DEPARTURE FROM PARADISE.

In either hand the hastening angel caught
Our lingering parents, and to the eastern gate
Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast
To the subjected plain; then disappear'd.
They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld
Of Paradise, so late their happy seat,

2

Waved over by that 2 flaming brand; the gate
With dreadful faces throng'd, and fiery arms.
Some natural tears they dropt, but wiped them soon ;
The world was all before them, where to choose
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide :
They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow
Through Eden took their solitary way.

2

Paradise Lost, Book XII.

'subjected, lying beneath. flaming brand, the "flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

SAMSON BEWAILS HIS BLINDNESS.

O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,
Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse

Without all hope of day !

O first-created beam, and Thou great Word,
"Let there be light, and light was over all;"
Why am I thus 1 bereaved Thy prime decree ?
The sun to me is dark

And silent as the moon,

When she deserts the night,

Hid in her vacant 2 interlunar cave.

Since light so necessary is to life,
And almost life itself, if it be true
That light is in the soul,

She all in every part, why was this sight
To such a tender ball as the eye confined,
So obvious and so easy to be quench'd?

And not, as feeling, through all parts diffused,
That she might look at will through every pore?
Then had I not been thus exiled from light,
As in the land of darkness, yet in light,
To live a life half dead, a living death,
And buried; but, O yet more miserable!
Myself my sepulchre, a moving grave.

2

1 bereaved, deprived of. interlunar, belonging to the time when This is for a day or two before and after

the moon is invisible.

the time of new moon.

ON MAY MORNING.

Now the bright morning star, day's 'harbinger,
Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her
The flowery May, who, from her green lap, throws
The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose.
Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire;
Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early song,

And welcome thee, and wish thee long. 1 harbinger, forerunner.

APPENDIX.

A

ADDISON. Joseph Addison, one of our best prose writers, was born at Milston, in Wiltshire, 1672. He was educated at Charterhouse School, in London, and afterwards at Magdalen College in Oxford. A quiet path, shaded by an avenue of trees, in the beautiful grounds of Magdalen College, is still known as Addison's Walk. His poetry first made him famous, and he was appointed to an important office under the Government. His chief works are papers published in the Spectator, Tatler, and Guardian. His writings are composed in a quiet, graceful style peculiarly his own. He died at Holland House, Kensington, 1719, and was buried at Westminster Abbey, where a monument has been erected over his grave.

ALBATROSS. A web-footed bird with long wings, which sometimes measure fourteen feet from tip to tip. Its feathers are soft, brown-spotted on the upper part, and white on the under part of its body. It is frequently met with in the southern seas, especially near the Cape of Good Hope. It often follows vessels for days together. It feeds on fish, and the flesh of dead whales and other floating bodies. It is very voracious.

AMBER. A hard semi-transparent substance, generally of a lightyellowish colour, but sometimes inclining to a reddish-brown. It is brittle, easily cut, and somewhat heavier than water. It is supposed to have a vegetable origin, and to be a fossilized resin, or a kind of vegetable gum which has become petrified. Amber is found in masses of various size, sometimes weighing several pounds. Leaves, insects, and substances of various kinds are frequently found enclosed in it. When rubbed it becomes strongly electric, and attracts light substances, as bits of paper, cork, straw, etc. The word electricity is derived from electron, which is the Greek word for amber.

AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. The country in North America now called the United States was formerly an English Colony, dependent on the mother country, as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc., are now. A dispute arose between the English Government and the colonists, during the reign of George III.

The former claimed the right of levying taxes in the colonies, and endeavoured to enforce the payment of duties on glass, tea, and some other articles. The colonists declared this to be tyranny, and resisted these impositions, saying that as they were not represented in the English Government it had no right to tax them without their consent. The quarrel at length led to a civil war, which broke out in 1775. The colonists met at Philadelphia, where they ssued a Declaration of Rights, and afterwards a Declaration of Independence, in 1776. They appointed George Washington commander-in-chief, and after a war which lasted till 1783, succeeded in gaining a complete independence from the mother country. Several battles were fought during the war; among which may be mentioned Lexington, Bunker's Hill, and Brandy

THE ANT-LION. •

wine. During the latter part of the war, the colonists were assisted by France, Spain, and Holland.

ANT-LION. An insect which lives in the sandy districts of Europe and Africa, and grows to the length of about an inch. It somewhat resembles a dragon-fly in appearance. This insect is developed from a larva which measures about half an inch in length. It feeds on ants and other small insects, which it catches by digging a funnel-shaped pitfall in the sand. The ant-lion lies in ambush at the bottom, and rushes upon any insect which ventures too near the hole and falls into it through the giving way of the sand. If the victim endeavours to escape by running up the slope, the ant-lion throws sand on it by a movement of its head, and so brings it down again.

ARMADA. The Spanish Armada was an expedition sent against England by Philip, King of Spain, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Philip was greatly enraged against the English on account of the attacks they had made on the Spanish fleets and colonies, and also because they had become Protestant. It is also stated that he was angry because Elizabeth had refused to marry him, on the death of his first wife, Queen Mary. He fitted out an immense fleet of one hundred and thirty great ships, which the Spaniards called the "Invincible Armada." It sailed from Lisbon in 1588, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. A large Spanish army was also collected in the Netherlands, to be embarked in the fleet at Dunkirk. The whole English nation, Protestants and Roman Catholics, were united in resisting the invasion. Queen Elizabeth reviewed her army at Tilbury, and filled the soldiers with courage. The English fleet, under Lord Howard, attacked the Armada in the Channel, and cut off several vessels. The rest met with bad weather, many were destroyed by tempests; only about fifty returned to Spain, and these were in a very shattered condition.

ARNOTT. Neil Arnott was born at Arbroath, in Forfarshire, Scotland, 1788. He was educated at Aberdeen, and became one of the most celebrated physicians of his time. He wrote several works bearing on the connection between medicine and physical science. The best known is his "Elements of Physics; or, Natural Philosophy, General and Medical." He also wrote several works of a practical kind on such subjects as Ventilation, Chimneyvalves, etc., and a book entitled "A Survey of Human Progress." He died at London in 1874.

ATHENS, the capital of modern Greece, and the ancient capital of a famous Greek state. This city is celebrated in history as the great centre of learning and philosophy during the centuries which preceded the birth of Christ. Modern learning, philosophy, and literature have sprung from the writings of celebrated Greek authors. The remains of Greek architecture and sculpture are still among the finest specimens of those arts. The most splendid remains of Greek antiquity stand on a hill called the Acropolis. Here are the ruins of the Parthenon, a magnificent temple built by the first Greek architects in honour of Minerva, the Goddess of War, and also of Wisdom. Some of the sculptures from this ancient temple are now in the British Museum, where they are known as the Elgin Marbles, having been brought to London by

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